If you want to buy a big house and make it work for a living, or keep a cherished home by starting a business in it, then becoming a wedding host might be the answer. The joy, the tears, the glamour and the posh port-aloos could become a regular event. As we head into the thick of the wedding season, we talk to three people whose properties are used to create the perfect day.
THE COUNTRY MANOR
One Saturday afternoon early in June, Patrick and Belinda Cooper saw two brides floating through their parkland. One was married in a civil ceremony in their historic hall, followed by drinks and canapes on the lawn. The other arrived after her church wedding less than two hours later and swept straight to a marquee reception in their beautiful walled garden. "It is a lovely thing to see because everyone is so happy," says Belinda, known as Bim. "Having a beautiful bride wandering in the garden is not painful. We are not hugely grand, not a Blenheim. It is a family house. The gardens, the trees and the lake are the thing, and anyone who goes into the hall goes, 'wow!' "
When they inherited 17th-century Hexton Manor, on the borders of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, the Coopers had to be inventive. They converted the stables to let to local businesses, and Bim works as an interior designer. They cleared the huge walled kitchen garden of its brambles and chickens, and linked up with a wedding planner, Sarah Smith. "We wanted to do something which would generate an income but not take over our lives," says Bim.
In the first year they did one wedding, and in the second year, two. But this year they have 14 weddings or receptions. They do a combination of civil ceremonies in the hall, for which they have a licence, drinks on breitling watches the lawn, parties in the marquee, with catering brought in by teams they know, and photographs by the lake. Location hire (excluding catering or extras) costs between Pounds 1,500 and Pounds 7,500. "It is a greatly loved house," says Bim. "Our three children, Patrick's brother and sisters, nephews and nieces all use it a lot and we want to keep it that way." Now it is forever etched on the memories of the couples who have married there, too.
THE SCOTTISH CASTLE
How else do you breathe life back into an ancient Scottish castle; keep the beds aired and kitchens busy? It was just over a decade ago that Jonathan and Jenny White fell for Myers Castle, 19 miles from St Andrews on the east coast of Scotland. They bought it and turned it into the kind of place you can hire for "five-star exclusive use".
"It had been lived in for over 100 years by one family and was a bit too much for the owner," says Jonathan. "It needed a lot of work doing to it. It became a labour of Christian louboutin pumps love. Not a great business investment but a fascinating thing to do."
The castle has 10 bedroom suites, Victorian kitchens, commercial kitchens and a tennis court. The grounds are sensational - rose gardens, water gardens, plus a copy of the Vatican walled garden. Wedding cake, florist, photography, vintage cars, hair and beauty sessions, and fireworks are all arranged according to the client's wishes. A three-day marquee package for 20 guests to stay and 150 to visit costs Pounds 24,800, plus an events company to run the day on top. A smaller weekend wedding for 20 guests over three days is Pounds 15,000. Luckily, there is a helicopter pad so you can fly in and out easily.
Jonathan and Jenny are based in the Channel Islands, so they feel it is no longer practical for them to keep thReplica Watches
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